Second blast at Japan nuclear plant - 11 Workers Injured !

Watch Video of Explosion


A second explosion rocked Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, sending a plume of smoke into the air and touching off fresh concerns of radioactive leak in the quake and tsunami-hit country.


The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday the reactor has not been damaged.


Tokyo Electric Power Co [TEPCO], the plant operator, in a press release said, it was believed to be a hydrogen explosion at the plant's No.3 reactor and that 11 workers were injured. The first explosion happened at the same plant on Saturday, at the reactor No. 1.


TEPCO said that the impact of radioactive materials to the outside environment are presently under investigation.


Yukio Edano, Japan's chief cabinet secretary said that a large-scale radiation leak was unlikely. Edano said the reactor's inner containment vessel holding the nuclear fuel rods was intact, allaying some fears of the risk to the environment.


Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi said the cooling system at reactor No. 2 has also failed, leading to a build-up of pressure in the containment vessel. That is the  same problem units one and three encountered before they exploded.


Meanwhile, at Fukushima plant, the work to cool the reactors with a mixture of seawater and boric acid continues – an untested method, underscoring the desperate nature of the situation.



'No possibility of a Chernobyl'


Japan's nuclear safety agency said there is "absolutely no possibility of a Chernobyl" style accident at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, Koichiro Genba, the national strategy minister said, as quoted by Jiji Press.



The minister made the comment citing the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency at a meeting of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.


Meanwhile, a US aircraft carrier deployed for relief efforts has repositioned after detecting low-level radiation from a malfunctioning nuclear power plants, a US statement has said.


People around the area, already ravaged by earthquake and tsunami, are worried at the prospects of a nuclear radiation.


"I am due to give birth soon, I want to know exactly what is going on at the nuclear plant. I am scared," said a woman.


Twenty people have tested positive for radiation exposure and that number looks likely to rise.

Tsunami-hit Japan - At least 427 are being killed - Confirmed but likely to rise over 1000 !

Twin disasters overwhelm Japan - Video - All Jazeera


At least 427 are confirmed to have been killed after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Japan, triggering a devastating 10-metre-high tsunami along parts of the country's northeastern coastline and triggered an emergency at two nuclear power plants as well.


Japanese media said on Saturday the death toll was expected to exceed 1000, most of whom appeared to have drowned by churning waters.


"The damage is so enormous that it will take us much time to gather data," a Japanese official at the national police agency said.


The towering wall of water, generated by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake, pulverised the northeastern city of Sendai, where police on Friday reportedly said that 200-300 bodies had been found on the coast. 


The wave of black water sent shipping containers, cars and debris crashing through the streets of Sendai and across open farmland, while a tidal wave of debris-littered mud destroyed everything in its path.


The northeastern Japanese city of Kesennuma, with a population of 74,000, was hit by widespread fires and one-third of the city was under water, according to Jiji news agency .


Radiation fears - Reactor cooling systems had failed !
- but no immediate health hazard -




Japanese authorities scrambled on Saturday to prevent nuclear accidents at two atomic plants where Japanese authorities scrambled on Saturday to prevent nuclear accidents at two atomic plants where reactor cooling systems failed, as it evacuated tens of thousands of residents.


Radiation 1,000 times above normal was detected in the control room of one plant, although authorities said levels outside the facility's gates were only eight times above normal, spelling "no immediate health hazard".


The two nuclear plants affected are the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants, both located about 250 kilometres  northeast of greater Tokyo.


A total of 45,000 people living within a 10-kilometre radius of the No. 1 plant were told to evacuate -- raising the number from the fewer than 6,000 people within three kilometres told to leave Friday.


Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan early on Saturday morning left on a helicopter ride to Fukushima to assess the situation at the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power, and at other areas in the disaster zone.


When Friday's massive quake hit, the plants immediately shut down, along with others in quake-hit parts of Japan, as they are designed to do -- but the No. 1 plant's cooling system failed, the government said.


When reactors shut down, cooling systems must kick in to bring down the very high temperatures. These systems are powered by either the external electricity grid, backup generators or batteries.


This is key to prevent a "nuclear meltdown" and radioactive release.Japan's network of advanced nuclear power plants are designed to shut down as soon as the earth shakes in one of the world's most quake-prone countries, though a fire broke out in the turbine building of another nuclear plant in Onagawa., as it evacuated tens of thousands of residents.


Radiation 1,000 times above normal was detected in the control room of one plant, although authorities said levels outside the facility's gates were only eight times above normal, spelling "no immediate health hazard".


The two nuclear plants affected are the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants, both located about 250 kilometres  northeast of greater Tokyo.


A total of 45,000 people living within a 10-kilometre radius of the No. 1 plant were told to evacuate -- raising the number from the fewer than 6,000 people within three kilometres told to leave Friday.


Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan early on Saturday morning left on a helicopter ride to Fukushima to assess the situation at the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power, and at other areas in the disaster zone.


When Friday's massive quake hit, the plants immediately shut down, along with others in quake-hit parts of Japan, as they are designed to do -- but the No. 1 plant's cooling system failed, the government said.


When reactors shut down, cooling systems must kick in to bring down the very high temperatures. These systems are powered by either the external electricity grid, backup generators or batteries.


This is key to prevent a "nuclear meltdown" and radioactive release.Japan's network of advanced nuclear power plants are designed to shut down as soon as the earth shakes in one of the world's most quake-prone countries, though a fire broke out in the turbine building of another nuclear plant in Onagawa.